What is Five Spice Chinese Sauce?
Five spice Chinese sauce is especially good on meats and vegetables. Five spice is a soy sauce based blend, with cinnamon, cloves, fennel, star anise, and black pepper. These five spices are what make the classic Chinese five spice blend. The texture of the sauce is slightly thick and dark brown in color. The flavor is sweet and salty with the taste of the spices and an umami quality.
What does Five Spice Chinese Sauce Taste Like?
Salty is one of the five main tastes. It has a satisfying and addictive quality with hints of sourness. Salty foods include cheeses, cured meats, chips, and olives. It is used in almost every dish and prepared food. Salt is added to enhance flavor and offer a distinctly salty taste.
Sweet is one of the five main tastes. It has smooth and round notes in its flavor profile. Sweet is a naturally occurring flavor in many foods, including fruits, berries, winter squashes, sugarcane, and honey. The sweet taste in these foods is due to a higher sugar content. Sweetness is characteristic of desserts and is used as an accent in savory foods.
Umami is one of five main tastes. It is savory with a depth of flavor. Umami is a taste in many foods, including meat, seafood, beans, and nuts. It is both naturally occurring and created through the specific use of ingredients to create a satisfying taste. Umami is characteristic of proteins and savory dishes.
Ingredients
Soy sauce is a liquid condiment and seasoning made from fermented soybeans. Traditionally it was been made with just soy, many versions and brands use wheat as well. Soy sauce is dark brown with a thin viscosity. The flavor is intensely salty and umami. Soy sauce is used to season meats, seafood and vegetables, it is also used in sauces to perk up the flavor of the food and enhance other tastes.
Water is a substance and chemical compound made up of hydrogen and oxygen. It is clear, fluid, flavorless and odorless. Water is a necessity in nearly every aspect of life, including cooking, baking and hydrating the human body. Water can be served as a cold beverage, or at any temperature comfortable to the mouth and skin.
Sugar comes from sugar cane and sugar beets. The sugar is extracted from the juice of both plants and refined into the granulated substance known as sugar. Sucrose, the sweet substance of sugar is a combination of glucose and fructose. White sugar is composed of tiny white, dry granules. The flavor is sweet and neutral. Brown sugar is brown and has more moisture, with a richer flavor that hints at molasses. Sugar is used in both sweet and savory foods.
Mirin is a condiment used in East Asian cuisine and is a type of rice wine with a higher sugar content and lower alcohol content. It is clear with a yellowy hue and a thin viscosity. This sweet rice wine is used as a seasoning in grains, meats and vegetables. The flavor is sweet and a little bit vinegary, with a hint of alcohol.
Brown sugar comes from the sugar cane or sugar beet. It is less refined than white sugar, but a refined sugar nonetheless. Brown sugar varies in color from light brown to dark brown. Light brown sugar has a milder flavor and lower moisture content, than stronger tasting brown sugar. The taste is mildly like molasses and very sweet. The sugar comes in fine granules that clump together. Brown sugar is used in baked goods for its sweet flavor and ability to make cookies soft. It is also used in many savory dishes to balance flavors.
Soybean oil is used in many countries around the world and has become extremely popular in the US for its inexpensive price and neutral flavor. Soy oil is considered a vegetable oil and is extracted from soybeans. The color of this thin oil is a translucent golden yellow. Soy oil is used frequently in restaurants for sauteing, grilling and deep frying. It is also used in salad dressings and baked goods.
Sesame oil is pressed and extracted from sesame seeds. Sesame is a tiny seed with an earthy and nutty flavor. The sesame ranges in neutral colors from white to black. Raw sesame oil is yellow. Roasted sesame oil is a light to medium shade of brown. The raw, or non-roasted oil has a milder taste than the roasted variety and is more multi-purpose, whereas the oil from roasted sesame seeds lends a deep, earthy flavor that pairs well in East Asian dishes and is used as a flavoring.
Garlic paste is a convenient form of garlic used in cooking and as a condiment. It is made from peeled cloves of garlic that are thoroughly blended together to form a smooth, thick white paste. The concentration of garlic paste is exceptionally strong and has a spicy, pungent and bright flavor. Garlic paste may have additional ingredients, such as salt and oil. It is popular in Mediterranean cuisines.
Ginger is a spice whose root is used in food around the world. The root is grown underground and has a hard body and thin beige skin. The root has many rounded and long shoots and is often fat. The flesh of the ginger is golden colored with a flavor that is earthy, spicy and bright. Ginger is made into tea, used in sauces, desserts and savory dishes.
Rice vinegar is sometimes confused with rice wine vinegar and while both are made from fermented rice, each is different. Rice vinegar is made by fermenting the sugars in rice and then turning it into an acid. Rice vinegar is more delicate than other vinegars, such as white or red. The flavor of this pale yellow liquid is tangy, sweet and mild. It is used as a seasonings in some East Asian cuisines.
Cornstarch is obtained from the endosperm of the corn kernel. This is the main body and juicy part of the kernel. Cornstarch is a fine, white powder with a squeaky texture and neutral flavor. It is used in many foods, particularly in America. Cornstarch makes an easy thickener for liquids, such as sauces and an excellent binding agent for baked goods. In the 1800's cornstarch was used for starching laundry, making the clothing appear stiff and professional.
Anise comes from a flowering plant with lacy leaves. The seeds are harvested and used in a variety of cuisines around the world, in both sweet and savory dishes. Star anise seed looks like a brown, flowery seven pointed star. It is used whole, or ground into a powdered spice. The flavor is sweet and similar to licorice and fennel.
Ground cinnamon is a fine aromatic powder made from the bark of the cinnamon tree, also known as cassia; another variety. The bark is peeled from the tree, dried and ground into the warm brown powder that is known as cinnamon. The flavor is spicy, warm and sweet and savory at the same time. It is extremely popular in many cuisines and common in American desserts.
The peppercorn plant grows in tropical climate and produces tiny black fruit. The fruit is dried and become hard. At this point it is ground into a textured powder comprised of black and grey dots. It has a flavor that is spicy, pungent and sharp. Pepper is an extremely popular spice, especially in Western cuisines and lends a gentle heat to dishes. There are different varieties of black pepper and the flavor changes subtly because of this.
Fennel seeds are tiny thin seeds with tapered ends and a ridged body. Their color is a muted beige with a hint of occasional green. Fennel seeds can be ground into powder, though are more commonly used whole. The flavor is fresh, spicy and a bit similar to anise. This seed is used to flavor sausages, rice dishes and savory breads.
